Template:Reflist/doc

This is a documentationsubpage for Template:Reflist(see that page for the template itself).
It contains usage information, categories, and other content that are not part of the original template page.

This template encapsulates the <references /> tag to show the list of references defined by <ref>...</ref> tags, with some formatting. It reduces the font size and has options for columns and groups. References can be defined within the body of the article or within the reference list.

The <ref>...</ref> and <references /> tags are part of the Cite.php MediaWiki extension.

The font size should reduce to 90% for most browsers. Note that there is no consensus that a small font size should always be used for references; when normal-sized font is more appropriate on a page, use <references /> instead.

Using {{Reflist|2}} will create a two-column reference list, and {{Reflist|3}} will create a three-column list. Three-column lists may be inaccessible to users with smaller/laptop monitors and should be avoided.

Using {{Reflist|30em}} will allow the browser to automatically choose the number of columns based on the width of the web browser. Choose a column width that is appropriate for the average width of the references on the page.

If {{Reflist}} is used multiple times without a parameter, each instance will include all of the previously defined references. To force the parser to close previous references, each use of {{Reflist}} must be forced as a new instance by the use of any parameter. Even an undefined parameter such as {{Reflist|close=1}} will force the references to close.

References may be defined within {{reflist}} using |refs= and invoked within the content. There are new error messages associated with this update, documented at Help:Editing#References. As usual, groups can be used. Defined references must be used within the body; unused references will show an error message.

By editing your CSS, the personal appearance of the reference list can be customized. From Preferences, select the Appearance tab, then on the selected skin select Custom CSS. After editing and saving, follow the instructions at the top of the page to purge.

Font size

The font size defaults to 90% of the standard size. To change it, add:

There have been a number of requests to add functionality for a collapsible or scrolling reference list. These requests have not been fulfilled to due to issues with readability, accessibility, and printing.

The links between the inline cite and the reference list do not work when the reference list is enclosed in a collapsed box.